2010 Hillsdale News FLAG
IssueTopIssue #128
Posted January 30, 2014   
Also in This Issue
* Retired reporter recalls first MAX tunnel
* Ballet School moves into expanded quarters

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Commentary 

Visions need to take reality into account 

 

Olympia Typewriter

Between an architect's drafting table and the reality of the actual building site something lamentable happens to the beautiful images of buildings that architects create.

 

Case in point is the expanded and refurbished Portland Dance Studio at the prominent corner of Capitol Highway and Sunset Boulevard.

 

The building taken in isolation is a lovely fit architecturally. The structure has a rhythmic pattern that suits the site. It is conservative, yet bold and inviting, suggesting the youthful creativity at work and play inside.

 

I've described the building that took shape on a drafting table, or more likely on a computer.

The problem emerges when the totality of the private structure and the public streetscape are combined.

Look no farther than the attractive, understated, sculptural sign above the school's fa�ade. As most of the public will see it, it is obscured by a grainy wooden utility pole and a stanchion for the traffic signal.

And the omnipresent overhead wires criss-cross the building and its surroundings.

Certainly none of this clutter appears in the architect's renderings. It's as if the artist were blind to fact.

I have long argued that any new construction in the Hillsdale Town Center should be required to underground utilities. That is simply standard practice in Europe. Why not here?

Indeed, any new construction (street repaving, sidewalk repair etc), private or public should include undergrounding.

We should all see planned improvements for what they will be in fact, not for what we and their creators blindly imagine.


Tigard shouldn't dictate our future

In a March 11 election, the voters of Tigard will have a big say about the future of Hillsdale. (See the story above right). If the ballot initiative there succeeds, the results will very likely throw a wrench into plans to significantly improve transit here.

As noted last month, one option under consideration would put a Light Rail line in a tunnel underneath the Town Center.
Hillsdale would be two or three stops away from downtown Portland via one tunnel alignment. 

Another far less attractive, but cheaper to build, option would run enhanced bus service with dedicated lanes down Barbur Boulevard.

The merits (and demerits) of the various options are under consideration, as they should be.

The entire Southwest region, including Tualatin, Tigard, Multnomah Village, OHSU, PCC and the Kruse Way section of Lake Oswego should weigh those options carefully taking into account cost, benefits and opportunities for economic revitalization.

What should NOT happen is for Tigard voters to end the public planning process before the entire rapidly growing region has a chance to consider its vital transportation needs.

Between now and the election - on March 11 - our community needs to make its voice heard in Tigard. The alternative is that Tigard voters could curtail Hillsdale's options for the future.

Rick Seifert
Editor/Publisher

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Letters to the Editor

Light Rail is a waste

Editor:

Light rail is a colossal waste of money that does nothing to address the stated goals - reducing traffic and providing improved public transit.

 It is nothing but a make-work political payoff that enriches a few select construction companies and developers.

The estimates of cost per trip range from about $25 to over $80 - depending on whether you are talking to a supporter or opponent of light rail.  At maximum capacity, light rail could move about 2000 people per hour, vs. 3000 people per hour for an additional freeway lane, at ten times the cost of a freeway lane.  Portland light rail is not capable of running at anything near maximum capacity because the trains are limited to two cars, so they can make the turns downtown.

For what we have spent on light rail we could have added two lanes to every Portland freeway - one for cars, and one exclusively for public transit - AND have the number of bus routes we had before light rail, running every five minutes, 24/7, with a fare of 0, and still have a billion dollars.

It's not a bad idea, it's just plain stupid.  I would add that if light rail was about transit, and not about graft, it would have been built on the rights of way of the early interurban lines, around which Portland developed....

Tim Lyman


Hamilton bridge and tunnel never built

Editor:
 
Before moving to Hillsdale I lived on SW Hamilton Street uphill from the Willamette. You may have noticed how wide Hamilton is compared to the other streets that intersect Barbur. The story I heard is that a river bridge was supposed to connect Hamilton with Holgate on the east side. A tunnel was planned connecting the Homestead neighborhood with SW Hamilton near Hillsdale. The streets got built, but the bridge and tunnel got only so far as cost estimates.
 
Barbara Hansen
 
Letters to the editor are always welcome. Write  [email protected]
 
scctop
Map by Metro  
Downtown Tigard and its commercial Triangle area are at the center of the Southwest Transit Corridor, outlined in red.
Tigard voters may shape Hillsdale's transit future 


The saga of the Southwest Corridor transit planning, and of a possible light-rail tunnel under Hillsdale, is just beginning, but it is already taking odd twists.

Consider:

* Tigard voters may determine the outcome of the story, possibly writing a virtual "finis" to the core of the planning as soon as March.

* The story line has a deja vu aspect: this is not the first time a Tualatin Mountain tunnel serving Southwest has been proposed.

 * The outlines of the story are both murky and complex; key characters are reluctant to predict what will happen next.

Tigard's vote

Tigard, which straddles the crowded Southwest Transit Corridor, will vote on whether to place restrictions on Tigard's participation in Corridor planning. A special election is being held Tuesday March 11.

Civic leaders, including the mayor and the city council, are opposing the measure that would require the city-wide voter approval before any high-capacity transit, including light rail and bus rapid transit service could be implemented in Tigard.

The leaders say that improved transit is needed in the Southwest Corridor because of predicted growth in business and residential development. It has been pointed out that the Sherwood-Tualatin Highway has no bus service despite having 22,000 jobs.

Backing the measure is the libertarian Cascade Policy Institute and many of the same forces that unsuccessfully opposed the new Orange Line's construction to Milwaukie.

Measure supporters are concerned that improved transit in the Southwest region will result in "Portland Creep" and only worsen congestion because it will encourage growth and remove lanes for use by automobiles and trucks.

Steve Novick is the elected Portland City commissioner for transportation and sits on the important Southwest Corridor Steering Committee (SCSC). He backs the planning work and recently told leaders that polling shows most people in Tigard like the idea of high-capacity transit, but he cautioned, "in the March election, with really small turnout, some of us around the table are making sure we have a get-out-the-vote campaign."

Committee named

Meanwhile, a 24-member public-private support committee chosen by the steering committee has two members from Hillsdale. Sheila Greenlaw-Fink and State Senator Ginny Burdick serve on the "Implementation and Development Southwest" (IDSW) committee.

A strong local voice and close follower of the process on the IDSW committee is Marianne Fitzgerald, president of Southwest Neighborhoods Inc.

The committee's charge from the steering committee is to be a supportive advocate of the plan.

Others on the committee, which will make recommendations to the steering committee, include representatives from Fred Meyer, Kaiser Permanente, The National College of Naturopathic Medicine, OHSU, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, various environmental groups, district elected officials, and representatives from the Tigard and Tualatin chambers of commerce.

Historical precedent

In some ways, the region has seen much of this before. Tim Lyman, president of the Multnomah Historical Association, has unearthed the story of efforts in the first half of the Twentieth Century to connect southwest to downtown via an automobile tunnel called the Tualatin Tunnel.

Much of the motivation for the mile-long tunnel was land development in the then rural area. E-mail Lyman to receive a copy.

Lyman ends the story with these words: "The Tualatin Tunnel, a bad idea whose time never came, may yet be if TriMet has its way." Asked to comment on the "bad idea," Lyman wrote a letter to the editor, most of which appears in the left-hand column below.

Complex process

The decision-making process is also complex. If the major corridor proposal survives the Tigard vote and likely legal challenges to it, future important steps include passing Federal environmental reviews and overcoming congressional politics about just how much Federal money might be available.

The Southwest Corridor Steering Committee, which is guiding the process and will decide on the final alignment, consists of elected officials who will represent the views of their elected colleagues on city councils and other elected bodies. But those views can change either as a result of new members being elected or changing information and projections.

Bob Stacey, the elected Metro Council commissioner who represents our area, is the co-chair of the SCSC. He says the work is laden with considerations and imponderables. "It's a really heavy lift to do a transportation project," Stacey says noting the cost, funding and getting institutions who will benefit from the project to decide what they will do to help.

"The more partners and informed citizens, the better," he says.

At the grass-roots, local "working groups," like the one that meets the first Monday of the month at the Multnomah Arts center at 6 p.m. offer the public a chance to weigh in.

The sessions have open participation and are forums for information sharing and discussions. Representatives of the main government players are present.

The Hillsdale Neighborhood Association has the Southwest Corridor Plan on its agenda for its Wednesday, Feb. 5, meeting at St. Barnabas Church, 2201 SW. Vermont St.  Planners from Metro have been invited to answer questions. All are welcome.

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Reporter recalls first MAX tunnel decision-making process as being "opaque"

The story of Metro and TriMet's considering boring a tunnel through the Southwest Hills is more than familiar to Jim Mayer, a retired Oregonian reporter who lives in Hillsdale.

Jim was the paper's transportation reporter when the Westside tunnel (know officially as the Robertson Tunnel) was designed and built with its sub-terranean zoo station. It opened in September 1998.
Jim Mayer at Baker & Spice.


Jim's perspective is illuminating as Hillsdale and other Southwest communities weigh the merits and demerits of the tunnel option now being considered by Southwest Transit Corridor decision-makers.

Weighing in too will be Tigard voters who will vote on a March 11 ballot initiative that would amend the city's charter to block any Southwest Corridor mass transit construction in the municipality unless approved by voters (see story above).

Mayer, who was with The Oregonian for 33 years, covered the MAX expansion for roughly five years and recalls the issues associated with the project, including those that arose regarding the tunnel.

He says the decision-making process was "opaque" and "convoluted." The current process has some leaders complaining of similar lack of clarity.

"There are a lot of different players and the process is hard to follow," he says. It's not even clear which decision is the final one, he says. "It's hard for citizens to know where to intervene."

And then there were the behind-the-scenes players like unions, contractors and consultants. Key questions, he says, are "Who benefits and how are they influencing the decisions?"

During construction, many residents complained about explosive noise as workers had to blast their way through rock-solid sections that boring machines couldn't penetrate.

Ultimately, the 2.9 mile-long tunnel through the Tualatin Mountains, as the West Hills are officially known, was much more expensive than the estimate of $103.7 million. The final cost came to $184 million, largely because of the drilling difficulties.

Mayer says the resistance in Tigard isn't a surprise. "There's concern that transit will 'bring Portland into town.' " That is often code for more crime. The same objections were raised against the now-under-construction Milwaukee line, he notes.

There's also the inevitable debate of "cost versus benefits," he says. And he warns that historically TriMet has reduced bus service when light rail comes in.

Another down side is that Light Rail or the option of bus rapid transit will reduce traffic lanes above ground for other vehicles. North Interstate is a case in point, but the Light Rail there has also spurred development, Mayer notes.

Supporters counter that better mass transit will reduce the number of vehicles using the road.

Hillsdale and other communities will have to decide how the varying considerations weigh in the balance, he said. But before that happens, Tigard will have the first, and perhaps decisive, chance to say whether anything changes.


Business News:

Portland Ballet celebrates expansion

It's one of those only-in-Hillsdale stories - a plot of dairy farm becomes the site of a garage which miraculously is transformed into a premier ballet school in 2001.

And now the Portland Ballet has expanded its floor space 75 percent under the guidance of the husband-and-wife owners Jim Lane and Nancy Davis.
Jim Lane and Nancy Davis settle into their expanded ballet school.


Alumni of the Hillsdale school have gone on to top-ranked ballet companies. http://www.pinterest.com/portlandballet/tpb-alumni/

With the recent addition to the building, many more students will have that opportunity. On Saturday, Jan. 25, the school celebrated the official opening of the enlarged building, now 6,100 square feet up from 3,500.

With the larger quarters, student enrollment will increase by one-third and the school will expand its curriculum to include modern dance and innovative choreography.

An entirely new studio has been added to the east side of the building and the two existing studios have received new floors, barres and mirrors. Two dressing rooms and a stretching and warm-up space have been added. Plus there's a bigger lobby and new offices and a meeting room for the staff.

Lane and Davis were considering moving, but commercial property owner Ardys Braidwood realized the move would cut into the business of her nearby business tenants. So she decided to invest in the expansion.

In addition the school launched a $170,000 capital campaign which attracted $44,000 from individuals and grants from several foundations including the M.J. Murdoch Trust, Meyer Memorial Trust and the Collins Foundation.

The opening of the addition was delayed four months when sand that was once used to replace an underground fuel tank had to be removed because it provided weak support for the addition's foundation.

An interesting architectural note: the architect for the new addition, Laurie Simpson, is the spouse of Steve Simpson, who designed the Hillsdale Branch Library. The Simpsons also have a child who is a student at the Portland Ballet.

Hillsdale gets Oriental medicine practitioner

Just when you thought that Hillsdale offered every kind of health therapy possible, along comes Aram Levendosky.
Aram Levendosky


Aram is widely versed in Oriental medicine, everything from acupuncture to moxabustion (a form of heat therapy), cupping, body work (shiatsu/tui na), and customized Chinese herbal formulas.

His patients can also receive consultations about lifestyle,diet and exercise

Aram, who is joining the Portland Wellness Center at 6274 SW Capitol Highway, is also a certified Qi gong/meditation teacher.

He will be at the center Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays, and continue working three other days in Sherwood, where he started his practice in 2009.

He received his training at the Academy of Classical Oriental Sciences in Nelson, British Columbia, before earning his Masters degree in Oriental Medicine from Portland's Oregon College of Oriental Medicine.

He attributes a "dedication toward compassionate service" to his three years living in a Buddhist monastery in Japan.

He says that Hillsdale reminds him of his native Sebastopol, California, in that it is situated in a "vibrant health-conscience community and has interest in wholesome locally grown food."

Like so many others attracted to Hillsdale, he said he was drawn here by the Farmers Market and Hillsdale's "welcoming, friendly neighborhood feel."

His website is at www.aomhealth.com.

 
datebooktop
Date Book    


Saturday, Feb. 1

Usual Suspects join SOLV patrol

9 a.m. at the Food Front "verandah." "Usual Suspects" volunteers  enjoy an hour of cleaning up litter. Good clean fun and fellowship. Also needed is help replanting the Town Center streetscape. All welcome. Free coffee.


Monday, Feb. 3

Southwest Transit Working Group

6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Multnomah Arts Center. All are invited to join the group and consider major changes to our transit system, including the possibility of a MAX tunnel under Hillsdale. See lead story in this issue

Wednesday, Feb. 5

Hillsdale Neighborhood Association looks at SW Corridor Plan

7 p.m. St. Barnabas Church, 2201 SW Vermont. Q&A regarding the SW Corridor Planning process and prospective modes of mass transit and route alternatives, including a tunnel option.

Friday, Feb. 7

Rieke Benefit Auction

7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Refuge PDX, 116 SE Yamhill. Desserts, wine, silent and live auctions, games and raffles, all to benefit Rieke Elementary School.

Saturday, Feb. 8

SW Urban Trails Walk

9 a.m. Meet behind the bleachers at Wilson High School (Sunset Blvd. and Capitol Highway) at 8:45 a.m. for a 9 a.m. departure.
The seven-mile walk will include Fulton Park, Corbett St. down to South Waterfront, past Caruthers Park.  Then ascend the Gibbs St. Bridge by stairs or elevator up to Lair Hill Park and Dunaway Park, then up Terwilliger Parkway and back to Wilson High School.   A short cut is available to cut off about a mile, depending on weather or the wishes of the group.

  Bring a snack and water and dress for the weather.  Well behaved dogs  allowed but must be on leash.  For more information, contact Sharon Fekety at [email protected].

Sponsored by Hillsdale Neighborhood Association.

Wednesday, Feb 12

Hillsdale Alliance eyes Transit Corridor Plan
 
7 p.m. at the Watershed building, Capitol Highway and Berth Court. The Alliance invites the Hillsdale community to join the discussion about transit options for Southwest Portland. See story in this issue. The Alliance is a quarterly gathering of representatives from several Hillsdale organizations.

Tuesday, Feb. 18

Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning

6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., Hillsdale Branch Library. Attorney and author Richard B. Schneider introduces the basics of wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives and guardianships and conservatorships.


Wednesday, Feb. 19  

Rieke PTA Community Dinner

6:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., Cafeteria/gym. Dinner with speaker to be announced. All welcome. Dinner is free, but guests are invited to bring a dessert.


Saturday, Feb. 22

Identifying and Preserving Old Photographs

3 p.m. to  4 p.m., Hillsdale Branch Library. Sponsored by the Multnomah Historical Association.
 
Thursday, Feb. 27

Rieke Science Fair

6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Rieke Elementary School. Students display and explain projects in a non-conpetitive environment.

 

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